Republican primary filled with intrigue

Published: Monday, May 5, 2014 at 07:19 PM.

To the editor:

This political season in Onslow County was the most interesting that I have seen since I became a part of the community in 2002.

In 2002, there was an interesting race between Cecil Hargett and Tommy Pollard with accusations of a candidate filing for office under a false address and another candidate accused of frequently breaking environmental laws.

In 2004, Mildred Thomas was elected to serve as register of deeds, which made her the longest serving elected official in US history. Even though that race was closer than expected, there was little doubt that Thomas would fail to be re-elected. That same year there was a contest between incumbent Cecil Hargett and Harry Brown. There were accusations of a candidate using his position to obtain special favors for his business and accusations of someone selling one bad car. That was a funny race, but I didn’t think of it as interesting.

If anything interesting happened in 2006, 2008, 2010 or 2012, it wasn’t interesting enough to make an impression on my memory. The difference between 2014 and the past elections that I mentioned is that the excitement took place in the primary rather than the general election.

The entertainment value of the election process is something that is more appealing to younger voters. The new trend in Onslow County suggests that these exciting races are more likely to take place in the Republican primary. It is a great year for Onslow County Young Republicans.

On a related note: Onslow County Young Republicans will be meeting at Logan’s at 6 p.m. on May 8.

This political season in Onslow County was the most interesting that I have seen since I became a part of the community in 2002.

In 2002, there was an interesting race between Cecil Hargett and Tommy Pollard with accusations of a candidate filing for office under a false address and another candidate accused of frequently breaking environmental laws.

In 2004, Mildred Thomas was elected to serve as register of deeds, which made her the longest serving elected official in US history. Even though that race was closer than expected, there was little doubt that Thomas would fail to be re-elected. That same year there was a contest between incumbent Cecil Hargett and Harry Brown. There were accusations of a candidate using his position to obtain special favors for his business and accusations of someone selling one bad car. That was a funny race, but I didn’t think of it as interesting.

If anything interesting happened in 2006, 2008, 2010 or 2012, it wasn’t interesting enough to make an impression on my memory. The difference between 2014 and the past elections that I mentioned is that the excitement took place in the primary rather than the general election.

The entertainment value of the election process is something that is more appealing to younger voters. The new trend in Onslow County suggests that these exciting races are more likely to take place in the Republican primary. It is a great year for Onslow County Young Republicans.

On a related note: Onslow County Young Republicans will be meeting at Logan’s at 6 p.m. on May 8.

Eric Whitfield

Hubert

Editor’s note: Eric Whitfield is on the blog committee for the Onslow County Young Republicans.